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Old 28-01-2011, 14:23
queenshaks
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HTC Desire HD!

Never had a HTC, heard good things about them. I really wanted the iPhone 4 but not in a position to afford the £141 at the moment.

Any good/bad comments about it?

Any appreciated

ps It arrives on Monday *bites nails*
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Old 28-01-2011, 16:31
davethorp
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HTC are probably one of the best manufacturers when it comes to android phones, if not the best, and the desire HD does look pretty good from what I've seen of it. What was your previous phone?

I have an iPhone 4 and have been very happy with it but it can be very expensive on some networks or tariffs (cheapest I've seen is 3 who will let you have it for £69 on a £35 two year contract)
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Old 28-01-2011, 17:08
david.boobis
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Battery life on the Desire HD isn't great, but then the same can be said for most modern smartphones. In terms of hardware, it is one of the most solid, sturdy, and attractive phones out there, plus it's lightning quick. Software-wise, HTC Sense is the only UI layer worth having really, it looks good and doesn't get in the way. Overall, I'd say it's a great choice of phone, possibly even good enough to say that the iPhone premium isn't justified anymore.
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Old 28-01-2011, 19:26
queenshaks
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HTC are probably one of the best manufacturers when it comes to android phones, if not the best, and the desire HD does look pretty good from what I've seen of it. What was your previous phone?

I have an iPhone 4 and have been very happy with it but it can be very expensive on some networks or tariffs (cheapest I've seen is 3 who will let you have it for £69 on a £35 two year contract)
Hi Dave

I've been to gsmarena, the ratings were good. I currently have BB Curve 8900, which is still ok but I fancy something different and my contract is up next month.

My husband has the iPhone 4 and I love the apps on it. It has the be o2 and it's the only network I love and it works pretty damn good for me.
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Old 28-01-2011, 19:28
queenshaks
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Battery life on the Desire HD isn't great, but then the same can be said for most modern smartphones. In terms of hardware, it is one of the most solid, sturdy, and attractive phones out there, plus it's lightning quick. Software-wise, HTC Sense is the only UI layer worth having really, it looks good and doesn't get in the way. Overall, I'd say it's a great choice of phone, possibly even good enough to say that the iPhone premium isn't justified anymore.
Thanks, this is what my husband told me even though he loves his iPhone 4.

I've read good reviews but it's always better to interact with someone on a forum to get their views.
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Old 28-01-2011, 20:14
davethorp
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Hi Dave

I've been to gsmarena, the ratings were good. I currently have BB Curve 8900, which is still ok but I fancy something different and my contract is up next month.

My husband has the iPhone 4 and I love the apps on it. It has the be o2 and it's the only network I love and it works pretty damn good for me.
My iPhone 4 is on O2 though I'm seriously considering 3 when the next iPhone is released

Only advice with android would be to watch your data use especially if you have a few things set to sync in the background. When I tried android for a few months with the SE X10 my data use sky rocketed from under 100MB a month on my iPhone to over 2GB. I believe blackberry compress data so you may see an increase in your use on android like I did and this may put you over O2's data caps
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Old 28-01-2011, 21:10
AndyB1126
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I just got rid of my iphone to get a HD, and I could never go back. The battery is possibly the only thing that lets it down, but once I got used to the andoid operating system and started to have a fiddle, you start to learn what you can do to save battery drain. Things like having twitter and facebook auto update in the background. Well I turned those off because I tend to load the app to read the updates so the background updating served no purpose. Im now getting decent life out of my battery and I dont think Ill ever consider going back to an iphone. Id say Apple IOS is probably a bit more polished, Android being a bit of a rough diamond, but the HTC Sense theme I think is great, and I like the way you can customise absolutely everything. Ive had it about 4 weeks now and Im still finding new toys to play with and the more I get to know it, the more Im enjoying it.
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Old 28-01-2011, 22:30
Hardstyler
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My iPhone 4 is on O2 though I'm seriously considering 3 when the next iPhone is released

Only advice with android would be to watch your data use especially if you have a few things set to sync in the background. When I tried android for a few months with the SE X10 my data use sky rocketed from under 100MB a month on my iPhone to over 2GB. I believe blackberry compress data so you may see an increase in your use on android like I did and this may put you over O2's data caps
that's why you join giffgaff and don't worry about data or extra charges...
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Old 28-01-2011, 23:44
TheBigM
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that's why you join giffgaff and don't worry about data or extra charges...
Yeah but data rates on the O2 network (and therefore on giffgaff) are in general much slower than on 3. Images also get compressed and giffgaff aren't that stable, changing their packages all the time etc. You know 3 won't be doing that regularly.

I've got an HTC HD7 on giffgaff but if the Samsung Omnia 7 on the One Plan with 3 had been cheaper e.g. £25 a month for two years rather than £35, I would have gone with them.

3 also allow tethering and personal hotspots but giffgaff don't.
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Old 29-01-2011, 11:31
davethorp
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that's why you join giffgaff and don't worry about data or extra charges...

AFFILIATE LINK REMOVED FROM QUOTE
From what I've read that won't be the case forever as giffgaff are struggling to cope with it

Also the OP has just taken out a new contract on O2 so is unlikely to be in position to switch to a different network
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Old 30-01-2011, 17:15
queenshaks
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From what I've read that won't be the case forever as giffgaff are struggling to cope with it

Also the OP has just taken out a new contract on O2 so is unlikely to be in position to switch to a different network
You're right, I wouldn't change to another network Dave. I've been with o2 for years and I wouldn't change them for the world.

I don't what a giffygaffy is, so I doubt very much I would even use it.

Phone comes tomorrow....whoop!!
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Old 30-01-2011, 18:04
davethorp
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Giffgaff is a virtual network that actually piggybacks onto O2. They only offer a PAYG tariff though. They also pay people for referring others onto their network which a few people seem to think gives them an excuse to spam referral links for giffgaff on discussion forums in breach of the rules for advertising

Their tariffs are good but they are getting hammered by people abusing things like unlimited data so can't see them lasting too much longer without enforcing a fair use policy

I've been with O2 for 3 years but am considering a change when the next iPhone comes out
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Old 31-01-2011, 19:17
queenshaks
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Good news - phone arrived!

Bad news - I broke a piece trying to get battery cover off! Phone goes back to shop tomorrow!!
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Old 31-01-2011, 19:43
koantemplation
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Battery life on the Desire HD isn't great, but then the same can be said for most modern smartphones. In terms of hardware, it is one of the most solid, sturdy, and attractive phones out there, plus it's lightning quick. Software-wise, HTC Sense is the only UI layer worth having really, it looks good and doesn't get in the way. Overall, I'd say it's a great choice of phone, possibly even good enough to say that the iPhone premium isn't justified anymore.
I got a Motorola Defy today, but I was thinking about getting a Desire. The assistant showed me his Desire and said that the battery life wasn't very good with the original battery so he brought another one and said that it had a better life than the original battery.
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Old 31-01-2011, 22:16
rosetech
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I get three days out of mine - I just followed the HTC instructions on their support forum.
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Old 01-02-2011, 13:21
Red Arrow
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My iPhone 4 is on O2 though I'm seriously considering 3 when the next iPhone is released

Only advice with android would be to watch your data use especially if you have a few things set to sync in the background. When I tried android for a few months with the SE X10 my data use sky rocketed from under 100MB a month on my iPhone to over 2GB. I believe blackberry compress data so you may see an increase in your use on android like I did and this may put you over O2's data caps
I just want to point out that this isn't normal! I currently have a HTC Hero. I surf the web every day while commuting, use Facebook every hour or so on it and also often download Apps from the Marketplace. Yet I'm on average using about 300MB a month in data.

You either had some app in the background that was always downloading when it shouldn't or were streaming data like an audio/video feed a lot.
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Old 01-02-2011, 15:27
ACU
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I have the desire HD. It is an excellent phone, you wont regret getting the phone.

the HTC Sense UI is pretty good, but there are better ones that you can get. However for this you have to have a rooted phone.

As others have said battery life is a bit poor. You have to charge it every night, when for me is no great hardship - and is probably the norm for all/most smartphones. I do get a full days use out if it though. You can also download apps that will save battery life.

Remember when you get the phone, you go through several full charge to full discharge cycles. Do this around 7 times, and you will see the battery life increase.

Bad luck with breaking it, not ideal -- Get the husband to change the battery next time
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Old 01-02-2011, 19:05
queenshaks
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I have the desire HD. It is an excellent phone, you wont regret getting the phone.

the HTC Sense UI is pretty good, but there are better ones that you can get. However for this you have to have a rooted phone.

As others have said battery life is a bit poor. You have to charge it every night, when for me is no great hardship - and is probably the norm for all/most smartphones. I do get a full days use out if it though. You can also download apps that will save battery life.

Remember when you get the phone, you go through several full charge to full discharge cycles. Do this around 7 times, and you will see the battery life increase.

Bad luck with breaking it, not ideal -- Get the husband to change the battery next time
Thanks for full charge tip, will do

There's a little metal strip next to the battery flap, it slipped out, I slipped it back in, and I kind of bent to hard hard and it snapped in half!

Anyway, got another new phone, my brain is a bit frazzled to figure it all out but it is exciting!
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Old 01-02-2011, 20:56
Confusing
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that's why you join giffgaff and don't worry about data or extra charges...
3 is better
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Old 01-02-2011, 22:09
Saishoyw
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I'm tempted to get the HTC Desire HD on 3. THeir One Plan seems very good value and it's currently £106 cashback with Quidco! I need desperately to get rid of this god awful Nokia N97mini. I am sorely tempted to get the 3 one now, even though I still have 1 month on vodafone contract.

The battery life reviews have put me off the HD but as someone said above. you can get more life out of it by following some usage advices....

someone make my mind up for me and tell me what to do! lol
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Old 01-02-2011, 22:26
queenshaks
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I'm tempted to get the HTC Desire HD on 3. THeir One Plan seems very good value and it's currently £106 cashback with Quidco! I need desperately to get rid of this god awful Nokia N97mini. I am sorely tempted to get the 3 one now, even though I still have 1 month on vodafone contract.

The battery life reviews have put me off the HD but as someone said above. you can get more life out of it by following some usage advices....

someone make my mind up for me and tell me what to do! lol
I don't know about the battery life yet....but it's a beautiful, wonderful phone so far.
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Old 02-02-2011, 10:21
davethorp
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I just want to point out that this isn't normal! I currently have a HTC Hero. I surf the web every day while commuting, use Facebook every hour or so on it and also often download Apps from the Marketplace. Yet I'm on average using about 300MB a month in data.

You either had some app in the background that was always downloading when it shouldn't or were streaming data like an audio/video feed a lot.
No streaming (or very minimal - think I may have watched a game trailer on YouTube once). I think the main culprit may have been the timescape app that was part of Sony Ericsson's UI which background polled email, Facebook and twitter and did it in addition to any other apps which also accessed those services

Plus if I recall correctly the wifi had a tendency to sleep when the phone was sleeping even if I told it not to meaning a lot of the background stuff like email was being done over 3G even when in range of my home wifi

These are exclusively issues with the X10 which certainly wasn't the greatest android phone ever released though but I have heard of people having increased data use with other phones running android
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Old 02-02-2011, 12:24
ACU
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I'm tempted to get the HTC Desire HD on 3. THeir One Plan seems very good value and it's currently £106 cashback with Quidco! I need desperately to get rid of this god awful Nokia N97mini. I am sorely tempted to get the 3 one now, even though I still have 1 month on vodafone contract.

The battery life reviews have put me off the HD but as someone said above. you can get more life out of it by following some usage advices....

someone make my mind up for me and tell me what to do! lol
If you have wifi at home and/or at work...make sure you use them. The phone can be setup so that if it finds a wifi connection it will use that instead of the operator network (3G). Anything downloaded on a wifi will not count against your usage allowance.

You can also get apps, that once you hit your internet allowance, it will disable the 3G network, thus ensuring you never go over. The apps will then re-enable the 3G network once your new billing month starts.
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Old 02-02-2011, 16:08
ram jam
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i thought that Untill they turned 2g off and left me with no signal at work or on 50% of my journey to and from work
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Old 02-02-2011, 16:49
Confusing
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i thought that Untill they turned 2g off and left me with no signal at work or on 50% of my journey to and from work
Move house then or find a different job
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